Air-heater.



G. C. HAWKINS.

AIR HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-19. 19H.

Patented Nov. 9, 1915.

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COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH CO" WASHINGTON. Dr C.

G. C. HAWKINS.

m HEATER. APPLICATION FILED AUG-19.1911.

Patented Nov. 9, 1915.

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G. C. HAWKINS.

AIR HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-19. 19H- 1,159,669, Patented Nov. 9, 1915.

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UNITED STATES PATENT orrion.

GARDNER C. HAWKINS, 0F WINTHROP, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO CHARLES D. LANNING, OF BOSTON, ,MASSACI-IUSETTS.

AIR-HEATER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 9, 1915.

Application filed August 19, 191-1. Serial No. 644,898.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GARDNER O. Hawmns, citizen of the United States, and resident of l-Vinthrop, Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Heaters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for supplying heated air by the aid of a blower or fan or like device for ventilation, drying and heating purposes and is intended to furnish economical, efficient and compact apparatus for such purposes. 7

One of the features characterizing the present invention consists in the new arrangementand relationship of the air heating radiators within the air casing by which the largest possible contact of the infiowing air with the direct heating surface is secured while affording a minimum of obstruction to the passage of the air through the heating element.

It is my object by means of a peculiar and novel arrangement of the sections in relation to one another, to afford the maximum amount of heating surface in proportion to the weight of metal employed while increasing the etliciency of the radiating surface by causing the air flowing between the sections of one radiator to be impinged obliquely upon the live heating surfaces of the next radiator. The several features character-i7.

ing this invention which contribute to this result are, first the disposition of the sections of one radiator in relation to the next sec tions, where-by this oblique impact of the transverse currents .of air between the radiators is effected, and second, the tapering of the radiator sections. A more complete and perfect contact of the air particles passing through with the direct radiating faces is assisted by the deflecting ribs having a predetermined relationship to oneanother.

The details of construction and operation will be hereinafter pointed out and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which;

Figure 1 is a plan View showing a complete blower heating unit assembled in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a detail view partly in horizontal section showing the method of tying the individual sections of each radiator together; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a single section of one of the radiators; Fig. 5 is a plan view thereof and Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken through the side tof the casing and the adjacent radiator sec- In Figs. 1 and 2, a designates the casing surrounding the blower or fan and b designates that portion of the casing surrounding the heating element of the apparatus the same being connected with the blower casing by means'of the flaring throat I).

WVithin the casing is placed in a peculiar arrangement that is characteristic of this invention the heating element, which in this instance comprises a plurality of sectional radiators the individual sections 0 of each radiator being tapered on opposite sides of the middle portion and being arranged so that the tapered side edges abut against or oppose the tapered side edges of the sections of the next adjacent radiator, which adjacent radiator has its sections inclined or obliquely'disposed .to the sections of the first radiator so as to form not only a series of alternately contracted and widened parallel passages from front to rear through the heating element but also a series of zigzag paslsages inclining alternately from left to rig t.

In the drawings I have shown three radiators arranged and disposed in the manner above described but it will be understood that any number from twoupward may be used advantageously according to the par ticular conditions ofeach case. I will now describe in detail the construction of the radiators by which this arrangement and disposition is accomplished, it being understood that the radiators may be made'of any suitable material, although in the present instance they are shown as cast metal radiators, preferably iron.

The individual radiator section 0 is made in the form of an oblong box or receptacle whichis provided at the top with a short upward extension or neck 0 of oblong shape which carries the exterior inlet member 0 which as indicated in the drawings forms a narrow hollow or tubular member bounded on opposite sides by parallel flanges extending at right angles to the longitudinal axes of the entire radiator, but extended obliquely to the side walls of the main portion of the section to which it belongs, so that when the sections comprising the radiator are assembled side by side :theadj acent flanges of each inlet member come together except so far as they are separated by a thin metallic washer 0 employed to make a tight oint. The out-- let ports or passages are constructed in like fashion exterior to the lower ends of the radiator sections, except that the flanges which form the joint with the next section, are exterior to the circumferential wall of the outlet member to avoid forming a pocket in the outlet passage.

Each side wall of the radiator section is formed with a series of parallel inclined hollow ribs 0 extending across the side walls of the section in an oblique direction, these ribs or deflectors on each section being so disposed as to abut against the opposite rib of the next adjacent section so as to subdivide the passages or spaces between the individual sections of each radiator. Furthermore, the ribs 0 are so arranged that the ends of the ribs on the sections of one radiator meet or are opposed to the adjacent ends of the sections composing the next radiator but angularly inclined thereto, so that the ribs serve to subdivide the parallel passages extending between the sections of the radiators from front to rear, into smaller passages whose zigzag or oblique arrangement is in vertical plane. By this arrangement the air passages through the heating element not only incline alternately to the right and to the left as shown in Fig. 1, but also comprise subdivisions or passages which incline alternately upward and downward from front to rear as indicated in Fig. 2.

It will thus be seen that each radiator section comprises a comparatively thin hollow oblong box of metal which tapers down from the middle portion to the opposite side edges so as to offer the least resistance tothe entering air and indeed to form a converging throat to receive and transmit the air through the heating element. The hollow ribs on the sides of each section not only act as deflectors for the currents of air passing between the sections but also tend to form mutual supports or braces to maintain the tapered sections rigidly in their proper relationship to each other. The exterior arrangement of the inlet and the outlet ports shown and described, make it possible to use an oblong or oval inlet port in the top of the radiator sections to afford an abundant supply of steam and also obviates the necessity of employing threaded nipples for connecting the sections of each radiator together.

Themethod of connecting the radiators together is illustrated best in Figs. 1, 3 and 6. The hollow heads or inlet members 0 are so proportioned as to abut against each other with their smooth lateral faces or flanges the joint between them being rendered tight by the use of a thin metallic washer 0 the sections being held together in their radiator units by means of a tie-rodd. which passes through the heads of the sections comprising the radiator and whose ends are screw threaded to receive the nuts (Z, (Z Any leakage of the joints is obviated simply by tightening the nuts on this tie-rod. The nuts themselves are made with a recess or closed chamber as indicated at (Z (Z which forms a continuation of the screw threaded bore of the nut and is extended beyond the screw threaded bore a suil'icient distance to give ample range of adjustment while closing the outer end of the nut so as to leave no perforation for the leakage of steam. Thesteam is supplied to the heating element by means of the main supply pipe 6 which has a series of elbows or lateral extensions 6 located in proper position to project through corresponding openings in the casing b so as to join on or abut against the inlet head of the first section of each of the radiators. On its opposite side the header or supply pipe 6 is provided with aseries of perforations c to receive the end of the tie-rod, as best shown in Fig. 6. A'precisely similar con struction is used for the offtake pipe f which carries away the water of condensation. In

both cases metallic packing washers g are employed to make a tight joint between the tie-rod nuts and the abutting portions of the headers.

lVith this arrangement and construction I avoid rendering ineffective a considerable portion of the length of each radiator section at top and bottom, since there is no obstruction to the passage of the air between the sections from their top edges to their lower ends. At the same time I render it possible for an unskilled workman to quickly and easily assemble the radiator sections together.

While I have described the sections as extending vertically in the direction of their greatest length, it will of course be understood that so long as the relations of the individual sections to each other remain the same, it is immaterial whether the arrange ment be vertical or'horizontal In every case there will be the zigzag passages with the diagonal deflecting ribs subdividing them.

What I claim is:

1. An air heating apparatus embracing in combination a containing casing pro-- vided with inlet-and outlet ports for the passage of air, a plurality of sectional radiators each comprising relatively thin hollow separate sections arranged side by side and in communication with one another, whose sides or radiating faces extend transversely of the radiator to form interstitial passages for the flow of air transversely through the radiator, the sections of one radiator being arranged with their edges adjacent to the edges of the next radiator but with their sides forming an oblique angle with the walls of the sections of the next radiator at an oblique angle, substantially as described.

2. An air heating apparatus embracing in combination a casing provided with air inlet and outlet ports, a plurality of sectional radiators the sections of each radiator being arranged side by side .to form transverse air passages through the radiator, the side walls of each section being obliquely inclined to the side walls of the sections forming the next radiator, a plurality of hollow ribs being formed on the side walls of the sections, the ribs of one radiator being obliquely inclined to the ribs ot' the next adjacent radiator, whereby. the air currents passing between the sections of one radiator impinge obliquely upon the side walls and ribs of the next adjacent radiator to absorb the maximum amount of heat, substantially as described.

3. An air heating apparatus embracing in combination a casing provided with air inlet and outlet ports, a plurality of sectional radiators each comprising relatively thin hollow sections arranged side by side to form transverse air passages through the radiator, the side walls of each section being converged or tapered to thin edges which extend adjacent to the thin edges of the sections of the next radiator, the sections themselves being inclined obliquely to the sections of the next radiator whereby the current of air flowing between the sections of one radiator are impinged obliquely upon the radiating surfaces of the next succeeding radiator, substantially as described.

4. An air heating apparatus embracing a plurality of sectional radiators arranged side by side. the individual sections of each radiator being disposed with their side edges opposite to and adjacent to the side edges of the corresponding sections of the next radiator, the radiating faces of the individual. sections of one radiator extending obliquely to the radiating faces of the individual sections of the next adjacent radiator so as to form a series of continuous transverse passages for the tortuous flow of air between the-sections of each radiator in succession, substantially as described.

5. An air heating apparatus embracing an inclosing casing provided with inlet and outlet ports for the flow of air, a plurality of series of hollow heating sections, the members of each series being arranged therein side by side and also arranged edge to edge with the members of the adjacent series to form continuous parallel passages between the side walls of the heating sections, each section being relatively thick along its middle longitudinal axis and being tapered to its opposite side edges, whereby the aforesaid air passages are alternately contracted and widened andvthe currents of air passing between the sections of one series are impinged obliquely upon the direct radiating surfaces of the sections of the next series, substantially as described.

6. An air heating apparatus embracing an inclosing casing provided with inlet and outletports for the How of air, a plurality of series of hollow heating sections, the members of each series arranged therein side by side and also arranged edge to edge with the members of the adjacent series to form continuous parallel passages between the side walls or' the heating sections, each section being relatively thick along its middle longitudinal axis and being tapered to its opposite side edges, whereby the aforesaid air passages are alternately contracted and widened and the currents of air passing between the sections of one series are impinged obliquely upon the direct radiating surfaces of the sections of the next series, the sections of each series being provided with oblique lateral ribs subdividing the intermediate air passages, the ribs of one series being disposed obliquely to the ribs of he next series so that the air currents from the first series impinge obliquely upon the ribs of the next series, substantially as described.

7. An air heating apparatus embracing an inclosing casing provided with inlet and outlet ports for the flow of air, a plurality of series of hollow heating sections, the members of each series arranged side by side and also edge to edge with the members of the adjacent series to form a series of paral lel continuous air passages, the side walls of each section being provided with obliquely arranged outwardly projecting ribs extended laterally to meet the section beside it to subdividethe intervening air passage and to form lateral support between adjacent sections, the ribs of one series of sections being arranged to approach the ribs on the next series of sections obliquely in order that the air currents passing between the sections of the first series may be impinged obliquely against the ribs of the next series of sections, substantially as de scribed.

8. An air heating apparatus embracing in combination a casing provided with air inlet and outlet ports, a plurality of sectional radiators within the casing, the sections of each radiator being arranged side by side and being positioned edge to edge in relation to the sections of the next adjacent radiator to form transverse air passages through the radiators and the apparatus, the ,7

ot' the sections forming the next radiator and each section having a plurality of substantially parallel ribs formed on its side Walls and abutting against similar ribs of the next adjacent section to afiord lateral support and subdivide the transverse air passages through the radiator, said ribs being obliquely inclined to the longitudinal axes of the sections, and the ribs of each section being positioned. to substantially meet at their ends the ribs on the sections of the neXt radiator at an oblique and oppositely inclined angle, whereby the air cur.-

rents passing between the sections of one radiator are caused to impinge at an 0b- ]ique angle on the radiating ribs and radiating faces of the sections of the next radiator While being permitted to pass freelv from end to end of the apparatus, substantially as described.

In Witness whereof, I have subscribed the above specification.

GARDNER C. HAWVKINS; In the presence of G. A. ROCKWELL, G120. N, GODDARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,- Washington, I). C. 

